Most processed food products require some type of cooking during processing. For example, dehydrated vegetables require cooking during the dehydration process. Potato flakes and potato granules are two well known dehydrated vegetable products.
Various processes for making dehydrated vegetables, are also well known in the art. Typically, these processes involve precooking raw slices, cooling the precooked slices and then cooking the cooled slices. In the past, the precooking, cooling and cooking steps have been performed using large quantities of water. As water resources become more limited and more expensive, water is becoming a significant issue for food processors.
Water is not only difficult to obtain, but waste water is also difficult to dispose of in an environmentally safe manner. For example, waste water with high concentrations of organic material can contaminate ground water used for municipal and rural water supplies. Also, decomposing organic material in the waste water produces by-products, such as methane gas, that can affect air quality.
In view of the foregoing, the present invention is directed to a system and to a process for making food products in which water usage and waste water production are substantially reduced. In addition, the system and process of the invention provide food products having improved flavor and texture characteristics.